Al-Ittihad’s big win over Al-Ettifaq comes with early VAR controversy

Al-Ittihad’s 4-1 victory over Al-Ettifaq was accompanied by a refereeing controversy after an officiating expert said the winning side should have been awarded a penalty in the opening stages.

The Saudi Pro League match, played on Tuesday as part of the 10th round, ended in a convincing win for Al-Ittihad and secured three important points. However, Mohamed Kamal Risha, the refereeing analyst for Saudi newspaper Al-Riyadiyah, highlighted an incident involving Portugal midfielder Danilo Pereira in the seventh minute.

Risha said an Al-Ettifaq player had committed a foul by making contact with Pereira’s leg inside the penalty area. In his assessment, the referee was wrong not to award a spot-kick to Al-Ittihad.

He also said the incident should have been reviewed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), arguing that the technology ought to have intervened to help the referee reach the correct decision.

The assessment has raised questions about the use of VAR in influential penalty-area incidents, even when a match eventually finishes with a decisive scoreline. Despite the disputed decision, Al-Ittihad established control of the contest and completed a comfortable victory.

The result moved Al-Ittihad to 20 points and fourth place in the Saudi Pro League table. Al-Ettifaq, meanwhile, suffered a setback in their efforts to improve their position in the standings.

The penalty appeal remained a talking point after the final whistle, with Danilo Pereira’s involvement in the seventh-minute incident at the centre of Risha’s analysis. While Al-Ittihad celebrated a four-goal performance, the expert maintained that the side had been denied a penalty that should have been awarded.